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Page 59
"I will not--till next time," added Shuffles, as the chaplain moved
towards the door of the brig.
"'Look not thou upon the wine when it is red, when it giveth his color
in the cup, at the last it biteth like a serpent, and stingeth like an
adder,'" continued the chaplain, as he passed out of the lock-up.
Mr. Agneau went to the prisoner's berth, and found the two bottles of
wine. They were a sufficient explanation of the remarkable conduct of
Shuffles. The youth had "drank wine, and was drunken," otherwise he
would not have been guilty of such flagrant disobedience. Though in his
own estimation the excuse was worse than the original fault, yet it was
an explanation; and if the root of the evil could be removed, the evil
itself would cease to exist. The wine could be thrown overboard, and as
no more could be obtained during the voyage, the good conduct of the
young tippler would be insured, at least till the ship reached
Queenstown, which was the port to which she was bound.
With the two bottles in his hands, the chaplain returned to the
professors' cabin. Mr. Lowington was on deck. He did not deem it prudent
to leave the ship in the hands of the students, at first, without any
supervision, and it was arranged that the principal, Mr. Fluxion, and
Mr. Peake, the boatswain, should take turns in observing the course and
management of the vessel. Mr. Agneau carried the prize he had captured
on deck, and informed Mr. Lowington what had just transpired in the
brig.
"I knew the boy drank wine when he was at home," replied the principal;
"and if he is ruined, his father must blame himself."
"But it is really shocking!" exclaimed the chaplain as he tossed one of
the bottles of wine over the rail. "How can a parent permit his son to
drink wine, when he knows that more men are killed by intemperance than
by war and pestilence? I am amazed!"
"So am I, Mr. Agneau."
"The boy is hardly to blame for his conduct, since he contracted this
vicious habit under the eye of his father."
"The discipline of the ship must be preserved."
"Certainly, Mr. Lowington."
"And the boy is just as much to blame for his act of disobedience as
though it had been done in his sober senses."
"But you can afford to pardon him, under the circumstances."
"I will do that when he is willing to make a proper acknowledgment of
his offence in the presence of the ship's company, before whom the act
was committed."
"He is quite ready to do so now."
"If he will say as much as that to me, he shall be released at once."
"He will, sir."
"It is very strange to me that I noticed nothing peculiar in the boy's
speech or manner at the time," added the principal. "He certainly did
not seem to be intoxicated."
"Probably he had taken just enough to inflame his evil passions, without
affecting his manner," suggested the chaplain.
"I did not even discover the odor of wine upon him."
"Perhaps you did not go near enough to him. If you please, Mr.
Lowington, we will go down and see him; and you can judge for yourself
whether or not it is prudent to release him."
"I will."
"Thank you, sir. I feel a deep interest in the young man, and I hope he
may yet be saved."
When Mr. Agneau left the brig, after his second visit, Wilton, who was
very anxious to know what Shuffles meant by "making a chain," came out
of his mess room. He had been watching the chaplain, and wondering what
the prisoner could have to say to him.
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